I am a big enough fan that I purchased your iTunes Originals, even though I already owned all of the songs on CDs. I really enjoyed the spoken explanations and histories for each track interwoven with the music. One of your comments about "You Can Sleep While I Drive" really struck me: You said, "I never expected anything from that song ... but audiences would love it when I sang it. It was never released as a single ... it was never a hit on the radio or anything ... but it was a hit with my fans."I think I can explain why people like that particular song so much and why other artists have covered it: The song illustrates the opening sequence of stages a potential hero must complete in the Joseph Campbell hero cycle. Campbell believed that everyone is prewired to recognize these stages—in stories, movies, or even songs—because the cycle resides in our collective unconscious.
Campbell believed that every human being, whether a Regular Joe like me or a mythological person like Achilles from the Trojan War or Ripley from Aliens, is meant to begin a journey of growth during which an old self will "die," allowing the "birth" of a more evolved being. This journey has three distinct portions, departure, initiation, and return. During departure, the potential hero must complete five stages. First, she receives a call to adventure. Next, she initially refuses the call, wanting to avoid change and secure her old, familiar life. Supernatural aid, the third stage, is the entrance of a wise figure, often bearing amulets of power, who guides the potential hero at the beginning of the adventure. The hero wannabe then crosses the first threshold, the demarcation between her known life and the realm of the mysterious journey, and enters the belly of the whale, an existence where entirely new challenges await. "You Can Sleep While I Drive" illustrates all of these stages.
As the singer, you first make the call to adventure, beckoning the one sung to, the potential hero, to begin the journey: "Come on, baby, let's get out of this town ..." Obviously, the one sung to is resisting this call. Despite your offer to let her sleep while you drive, you see that the potential hero has a "mist that covers [her] eyes," a reluctance to accompany you. So you next step in as her supernatural aid, offering as amulets of power the fully gassed convertible, money for expenses, a plan for the trip, all with your guidance as the driver behind the wheel.
People want supernatural aid, even though the appearance of such a person in their lives indicates new challenges and change. That's why the hard to please Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid, Obi Wan Kenobi of Star Wars, or John Locke of Lost are such compelling characters. They demand that their heroes-in-training work hard and become more fully human than they currently are. The real woman who inspired this song might have resisted your call, but fans listening to the offer would hop right in. Gay fans who have seen your real-life leadership in coming out, raising a family, and fighting breast cancer would be especially quick to recognize your voice as supernatural aid, authentic with real experience, and respond to the call that is the song.
Leaving "this town" is crossing of the first threshold, Tuscan the beginning of a journey where the routine of daily life gives way to the unexpected adventures along the road.
I played "You Can Sleep While I Drive" to my students after we discussed the departure portion of the hero cycle. Since the song did not get airplay as a single, many of them had never heard it before but immediately responded, as they should have, prewired as they are for recognizing the stages of departure. I followed with "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses, the best belly of the whale song, to show that once the adventure begins, the hero is so not in Kansas anymore.
Anyway, it makes perfect sense to me that this song is a favorite, not only of yours but also of your fans. God knows, you have been supernatural aid in my life for many years, and I wouldn't hesitate to jump right into that vehicle—if only to drive to the corner Starbucks for an iced latte.
Best,
Sparky
